This book sits at an intersection between academic and public discourse. It seeks to advance the debate around gender and representation in superhero narratives by connecting with existing scholarship and expanding the conversation to include recent and previously unstudied texts and fan movements. We seek to contribute to the growing number of voices, from both fan and academic communities, who argue that diversity is not only the future of the superhero genre, but that diversity has always been present, if sometimes hidden, in the genre’s history, readership, and concerns. The authors in thi ... More

This book sits at an intersection between academic and public discourse. It seeks to advance the debate around gender and representation in superhero narratives by connecting with existing scholarship and expanding the conversation to include recent and previously unstudied texts and fan movements. We seek to contribute to the growing number of voices, from both fan and academic communities, who argue that diversity is not only the future of the superhero genre, but that diversity has always been present, if sometimes hidden, in the genre’s history, readership, and concerns. The authors in this book argue that In terms of narrative, then, differences in character lead to the consideration that such deviations from established, patriarchal practice lead to differences in narrative structure.